In Germany, the transportation of animals was banned due to the detection of foot-and-mouth disease

BERLIN (AP) — Animals were banned in the state surrounding Berlin on Saturday and two of the capital’s zoos were closed as a precaution after foot-and-mouth disease was detected in a bison herd outside the city, Germany’s first outbreak in more than 35 years. . years

Authorities in the state of Brandenburg, which surrounds Berlin, said on Friday that a farmer had found three dead from a herd of 14 water buffalo in Hohenau, just outside the capital. Germany’s National Institute for Animal Health confirmed that foot-and-mouth disease was detected in samples from one animal and the rest of the herd was slaughtered. It is not known how the animals became infected.

A 72-hour ban on the transport of cows, pigs, sheep, goats and other animals such as camels and llamas came into force in Brandenburg on Saturday. Two Berlin zoos have been closed since Saturday as a preventive measure. In a statement, management said that while the virus is not dangerous to people, it can stick to their clothes and be transmitted.

Authorities said about 200 pigs at a farm in Ahrensfeld, close to where the outbreak was discovered, would be slaughtered as a precaution.

Foot-and-mouth disease is caused by a virus that affects cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, and other ungulates. Although the mortality rate is generally low, the disease can cause fever, loss of appetite, excessive drooling, blisters and other symptoms in animals.

The virus is easily spread by contact and airborne and can quickly infect entire herds. People can spread the disease through things like farm equipment, shoes, clothing, and vehicle tires that have been in contact with the virus.

The last outbreak in Germany was in 1988, and the last in Europe was in 2011, according to the German Institute of Animal Health.